Protecting New York's Workers

Publication Date: December 2006

Publisher: Brennan Center for Justice

Author(s):

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: Justice; Economic Opportunity; Enforcement

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

The Brennan Center recently joined with a coalition of community organizations and other advocates to address the growing problem of minimum wage and overtime violations in New York State. The coalition began its work with the recognition that all New Yorkers bear the costs of this endemic problem. Low-wage and immigrant communities are especially hard hit, with the highest rates of workplace violations but the fewest resources to address them. Law-abiding employers are forced into a race to the bottom when their competitors pay below the minimum wage. And local governments lose significant tax revenues when workers are underpaid.